Maiev Talents

Level	Choices
1	? ? ✓
4	✓ ? ?
7	✓ ? ?
10	✓ ?
13	✓ ? ?
16	✓ ? ?
20	? ? ✓

Bonds of Justice provides a modest but reliable damage increase. Bonds of Justice's damage can grow quite high on Maps that promote early game combat to allow you to steadily use Umbral Bind, such as Battlefield of Eternity, Braxis Holdout, Dragon Shire, and Tomb of the Spider Queen.

Pursuit of Vengeance provides Maiev with slightly more mobility. Although damage-oriented options may be preferred at this Level, Pursuit of Vengeance is not a bad Talent. If you cannot deliver many Basic Attacks in teamfights, it can be a better choice than Naisha's Memento.

Differently from Bonds of Justice, Naisha's Memento instantly adds an excellent tool to her kit. Naisha's Memento is the default choice for Level 1, as it greatly enhances Maiev's early game and improves her PvE power, while the other options do not add as much.

Naisha's Memento should be used at the start of the fight, right before applying Umbral Bind to maximize the damage dealt. It is very efficient to quickly release Mercenary Camps, as it also bounces on neutral targets.

Pin Down is dependent on a hard quest to be useful, and therefore we only recommend this Talent for experienced Maiev players. Pin Down's damage boost will be applied to every Fan of Knives hit, while its counterpart depends on being in melee range with your target. For this reason, you only need 1 stack to surpass Blade Dance's effectiveness in fights, which is not hard to get if you are a veteran Maiev player.

For most players, Blade Dance is more reliable than Pin Down, as it has the distinct advantage of being active the instant it is picked. This Talent deals damage in a small radius around you. Position yourself in the middle of the wave to hit all Minions with the short-range effect from this Talent when casting Fan of Knives. The Physical Damage it inflicts also synergizes with two Talents at Level 16, Armored Assault and Cruel Chain (it adds another stack to increase Umbral Bind's pull damage).

Sudden Vengeance provides Maiev with a nice amount of on-demand burst damage. Sudden Vengeance's main advantage over Blade Dance lies in its non-reliance on fighting more than one Hero to generate value. In other words, it is less situational, though its overall damage potential is proportionally lower.

Elune's Wrath provides Maiev with a great damage boost. Just like Blade Dance, this Talent synergizes well with two Level 16 Talents, Cruel Chain and Vengeful Knives, as Elune's Wrath's damage is calculated as a damage source that is distinct from Fan of Knives. It is the standard choice for this tier, as it will be extremely useful in all teamfights, while its counterparts are much less reliable.

Bonds of Corruption provides Maiev with a decent Slow and Armor reduction effect that occurs right before targeted burst damage is most likely to occur. This is a good Talent when Maiev is unable to deal much damage, so she can be useful without risking herself too much. This is a good Talent with Pursuit of Vengeance.

Ruthless Spirit boosts all damage dealt by Maiev, at the cost of reduced mobility (considering Spirit of Vengeance should be used to hit enemies instead of to reposition). This Talent does not add as much damage into a teamfight as Elune's Wrath does, but it can be activated more often in the game, as it has value even in 1v1 scenarios.

In this section we discuss when and why to pick a given Heroic Ability. If you want to read how they work in detail and/or you are looking for some tips on how to use them, check them out on the Abilities and Strategy page.

Containment Disc is a unique Ability that is primarily used to instantly take specific Heroes out of the game for a lengthy time period, preventing them from using key Abilities. Containment Disc can be used at any enemy during a teamfights, as it will have great value on all of them. Squishy Heroes will be severely punished by the Silence, Tanks and Bruisers will lose all their momentum and peeling capabilities for 5.5 seconds, and Healers will not be able to protect their teammates as well. It can also be used for killing enemies separated from their team. It should be used at will, as the cooldown is very low.

Warden's Cage is Maiev's more combo-oriented Heroic Ability choice, and doubles as a way to hinder dive. Generally, Warden's Cage follows Maiev's typical Spirit of Vengeance plus Umbral Bind combo to lock down tethered Heroes for an extended period of time. Simply ensure that your allies are nearby and ready to following up. Otherwise, it can be used following opposing initiation to make following up more difficult and creating some breathing room for whoever is being targeted.

Bladed Armor is the most reliable of the three Talent choices at this tier, in that it is easy to trigger and lasts the longest, but also offers the least amount of Armor. It is the recommended choice here, unless you got Pursuit of Vengeance at Level 1, then Shadow Armor will also be very effective.

Chain Gang provides the most Armor and does so exactly when you need it, but its condition to activate is hard to reach. Chain Gang is an excellent choice if you can consistently hit multiple targets with Umbral Bind.

Shadow Armor provides a reasonable amount of Armor with potentially high uptime and usually when you need it as well. Bladed Armor has more potential against melee-heavy team compositions, however, as they allow for liberal and reliable Fan of Knives casts, which are safer than delivering sustain Basic Attacks. Shadow Armor works best for novice Maiev players.

Cruel Chain has the ability to vastly increase Maiev's late game damage output when combined with the Bonds of Justice Talent. As such, Cruel Chain should be prioritised on Maps that allow Bonds of Justice to stack up effectively, such as Battlefield of Eternity, Braxis Holdout, Dragon Shire, and Tomb of the Spider Queen.

Vengeful Knives is an excellent Talent that will greatly increase your damage in teamfights. Against certain targets, Vengeful Knives may double Fan of Knives's damage. It has great synergy with Elune's Wrath and Naisha's Memento, since those Talents will help you to get maximum percent-based damage as possible on each Fan of Knives.

Armored Assault provides Maiev with a potent Physical Damage increase, which functions for her Basic Attacks, and Naisha's Memento's bounce property, and the Level 4 Blade Dance Talent. Armored Assault is a good Talent if you cannot reliably hit multiple targets with Fan of Knives, since it will add guaranteed damage. The Armor clause is relatively easy to maintain, particularly with the recommended Level 13 Talents.

Shadow Orb: Vengeance can be used to initiate with the Spirit of Vengeance plus Umbral Bind combo followed by a second Spirit of Vengeance cast to very reliably pull opponents. Being able to cast Spirit of Vengeance twice can also be useful to catch some of the longer-ranged Heroes, such as Chromie and Sgt. Hammer by surprise. It is particularly good with Cruel Chain, as it can guarantee a good pull with a second blink from Spirit of Vengeance.

Shadow Orb: Huntress provides Maiev with a powerful on-demand movement and Attack Speed increase. Shadow Orb: Huntress works particularly well with Talents that improve Maiev's physical damage, like Naisha's Memento, Blade Dance, and Armored Assault. The Movement Speed increase is particularly useful for securing Umbral Bind hits and pulling Heroes.

Since Shadow Orb: Shadow Strike is targeted, meaning it cannot miss, this Talent is particularly useful for isolating a single key target through Umbral Bind, as it makes it more difficult to keep up with Maiev to deny the pulling effect. The Armor reduction is also valuable for bursting purposes. This is the default Talent for this tier, as it can be used in diverse ways with any build.